Early Exposure to Pornography Could Lead
to Destructive Pornography Addiction
By Dr.Fourkan Ali
While most think of alcohol, drugs
and gambling when they hear the word ‘addiction’, there are many things to
which people can become addicted. The truth is that any pattern of behaviour
that has a negative impact on a person’s life can be classed as an addiction. Pornography addiction is
a growing issue for many individuals, and most believe that it is the easy
accessibility of porn today that is fuelling this increase.
Although not everyone who looks at porn will develop an
addiction, there are some people for whom it will become a major problem – and
one that will affect many areas of their lives. There are a number of risk
factors for pornography addiction, and one of them is early exposure. The earlier
a person is exposed to pornography, the more likely he or she is to become
addicted.
New Research
In fact, a new report has found that children as young as
eleven are becoming ‘desensitised’ to pornography due to the fact that they are
regularly watching it and copying what they see. A quarter of eleven-year-olds
questioned had already seen online porn, with that figure rising to around
fifty per cent for those aged sixteen.
Many of those queried said they did not actively seek out
online porn but came across it by mistake. And a third of boys aged between
thirteen and fourteen said that they wanted to copy what they had seen online.
Internet Restrictions
Many people believe that there need to be more restrictions
on the content available online, particularly explicit material. One thousand
children were surveyed by the NSPCC, Middlesex University, and the Children’s
Commissioner, and the results are likely to shock.
According to Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner,
“Many children and young people who view pornography are disturbed by it. It is
worrying that millions are viewing it, whether they’re stumbling on it by
accident or actively searching for it.”
Social Media
A Sky News report found that many fourteen to
fifteen-year-olds are worried about the amount of online porn they encounter on
social media sites such as Snapchat and Instagram. Kieran, who is 15, said that
‘things come up on Twitter like porn websites that you might accidentally click
on’. He added, “People who are 10 and 11 – they don’t know what it is,
and they click on it.”
Charlotte, also 15, said that porn stars are ‘pretty much
perfect people’ and stated that it makes young girls feel insecure. She added
that online porn gives people their age an unreal expectation of what sex is
actually like.
Banning Online Porn
While some believe that there should be an outright ban on
online porn, psychotherapist Paul Hall does not agree. He said, “I don’t think
it is possible to ban pornography, that is just not realistic at all. Putting
blockers in place, trying to restrict access to young people and vulnerable
people obviously makes sense, but I think we’d be naive as a society to think
that would stop young people from accessing it.”
Violent Crime
Untreated pornography addictions have been linked to a
number of violent crimes, with one senior barrister, Mark Fenhalls QC, saying
that ‘desensitisation to porn was normalising violence and abuse’. Mr Fenhalls
said, “The level of sexual assaults feels like it is increasing. People think
that the kind of things children are doing to each other are more serious than
they used to be.”
He added that this could be because children now have
unregulated access to this type of behaviour on their smartphones. He said,
“They think it’s normal as a consequence.”
Sex Education
According to Anastasia de Waal, who chairs the Family Lives’
Teen Boundaries programme, porn seems to be filling the gap in terms of sex
education for children. She said, “The reality is that we could end up pushing
young people towards porn because we’re not equipping them with the reality of
sex education. Young people are not able to find the information they need, and
are seeking it out elsewhere.”
She believes children need more education about sex and
healthy relationships in order to protect them from the damaging effects of
pornography.
Pornography Addiction
Those who have been exposed to pornography from an early age
come to view it as normal, and the more they view it, the higher the chance of
addiction. Those who continue to watch porn again and again will soon become
tolerant to its effects. They will no longer find what they are watching
satisfying and may begin to seek out more explicit material. This is when they
have become addicted. They will neglect other areas of their life and may spend
hours at a time watching porn online.
A pornography addiction can affect a person’s quality of
life and might prevent them from enjoying things that they previously took
pleasure in. They may stop spending time with family members and friends, and
their work performance could be affected. Some people with pornography
addictions suffer job losses, financial hardship and marriage breakdowns. It
is, therefore, necessary that those with this type of addiction recognise the
problem and get help as soon as possible.
If you or a loved one is affected by pornography addiction,
contact us here at Addiction Helper today.
Source:
1.
http://www.heart.co.uk/news/uk-world/half-of-children-have-viewed-porn-online/#
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